Oberon's Gate
by Grimwood
Summary: The Animorphs, Brooklyn, Lexington, Broadway, and Angela take their Pokemon back into the world. Unfortunately, Demona follows them. Macbeth may help, if he can get there. What will happen to them all? Please R&R and note that type-o's are immenent.
1. Part 1: Going Back

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I like Gargoyles, Animorphs, and Pokemon. This crossover story line contains all three. Enjoy! ~Grimwood ~grimwood83@yahoo.com  
  
Oh, a couple of notes: * = telepathy/thought-speak " = regular speech/quote ~Commercial Break~ = generally, a shift in characters and/or location that lets you take a break for getting a snack or whatever and can be ignored. If you need to see what an Andalite looks like, go to http://www.scholastic.com/animorphs and click on the link that goes directly to the books. It shows Ax on some of the book covers, his brother on the cover to Andalite Chronicles, an Andalite female on Hork-Bajir Chronicles, and Visser Three/One, who has an Andalite host body, on Visser.  
  
  
OBERON'S GATE  
  
Part 1: Going Back  
  
~Prologue~  
  
The Animorphs had gone on a "vacation" to Manhattan. They encountered the Gargoyles and the Xanatos family. Jake attempted to morph Brooklyn, but the morph wasn't an exact duplicate because of the way Gargoyle DNA makes that there are never two identical Gargoyles. Jake had Brooklyn's exact build but had tiger stripes for the main pattern.   
  
Jake discovered that Gargoyles had instincts fairly similar to human instincts. The major difference was that Gargoyles are highly protective. Jake found out that the protective instinct of Gargoyles could be extremely overpowering. He discovered this while gliding along and seeing an innocent human being bothered by a nasty gang. Jake glided down and rescued her before he even knew what he was doing! Then he and those that Jake was with headed back for the Eyrie Building.  
  
Later, Alex had transported the Animorphs, the trio, and Angela to the Pokeworld. His reason was Marco commenting on morphing a Pokemon. The trio, Angela, Ax, and Tobias were told that they resemble Pokemon. They and the other four Animorphs became registered trainers complete with having a Pokemon.  
  
Within a few nights, Jake, Cassie, Marco, Broadway, and Angela were captured by the notorious leader of Team Rocket: Giovanni! He forced them to battle, but the Animorphs turned into skunks and left a very bad smell.  
  
Meanwhile, Mew and Mewtwo told the others of the kidnapping. The two Pokemon helped Brooklyn, Lexington, Rachel, Tobias, and Ax rescue their friends. Well, sort of. Mew and Mewtwo teleported everyone to where Giovanni had the captives. Then the two Pokemon vanished.   
  
After the rescue, which had caused the collapse of the Viridian City Gym, Oberon, Titania, and a few others came to get the Gargoyles and Animorphs out of the Pokeworld. They got to Avalon, where Oberon was told of their adventures. Oberon was furious when he learned he was called a Pokemon. He caused Giovanni to be a Wobbuffet for the next two centuries. The Lord of Avalon rewarded Mew and Mewtwo for their assistance. They gained Fay immortality, Mew the ability to speak, and both guardianship of Oberon's Gate.  
  
~End Prologue~  
  
~Eyrie Building, a few months after their vacation ended~  
  
The Animorphs had gone back to the Eyrie Building. Their Pokemon, which Oberon had enchanted to speak human, had wanted to go "home." Rachel wanted to have a longer stay in the Pokeworld but wasn't sure if she'd be allowed to do that.  
  
Oberon had told them of his gate, which was a transdimensional portal between their world and that of the Pokemon. He had informed them of its location on the roof of the tallest tower on the Eyrie Building. Lord Oberon had also told them that Mew was presently "guarding" the gate.  
  
The Animorphs knew that they'd have to hurry. The trio and Angela had gone through the gate the night before the Animorphs reached the Eyrie Building.  
  
*Mew?* Ax called.  
  
"I'm here," it answered as it arrived from teleporting to where the Animorphs were. "Please, allow me to get you to the gate." Mew teleported them up to the tower where Oberon's Gate is located. The kitten-like Pokemon continued, "On the count of three, you must focus your minds on the Pokeworld. Focus on the lounge area of Professor Oak's Laboratory. Oberon's Gate is enchanted to only open once the travelers have pictured Professor Oak's lounge. Otherwise, it won't open."  
  
"What if not all of us pictures that?" Cassie inquired.  
  
"Um, I don't think it will work. Tell Mewtwo I say hi." Mew teleported away again.  
  
The Animorphs didn't find Mew's instructions all that strange. They followed through with the directions. Suddenly, a blueish light appeared. It slowly expanded until it was roughly eight feet in diameter.   
  
The Animorphs went through Oberon's Gate one at a time in no particular order. Since they had their Pokemon in the Pokeballs, the Pokemon were transported as well.  
  
~Professor Oak's, moments later~  
  
*That worked quite well,* Ax stated once everyone was through Oberon's Gate. Before anyone else could comment, Mewtwo appeared.  
  
*Welcome back, Animorphs,* it said.  
  
"Hi, Mewtwo. Oh, Mew also says 'hi'," Jake replied.  
  
*Thank you, Jake. I suppose you wish to catch up with the Gargoyles?* Mewtwo inquired.  
  
"Got it in one!" Marco exclaimed, snapping his fingers.  
  
*I know where they are, if you would like additional aid in catching up,* responded the super- clone.  
  
"Thanks. We'd appreciate it, Mewtwo," Cassie said. Mewtwo transported the entire group to where the Gargoyles were.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Bit of a back-track for three weeks, outside the Viridian City limits~  
  
Giovanni was wandering around as he had been since Oberon turned him into a Wobbuffet. He kept muttering to himself about various ways to break the curse. Strangely enough, his Persian remained loyally by Giovanni's side.  
  
The Persian kept trying to tell Giovanni that things would improve if he forgot all about Team Rocket. One day, they encountered Jessie, James, and Meowth.  
  
"That's weird," said Jessie.  
  
"Why would a Persian tag along with a Wobbuffet?" asked James.  
  
"How should I know?" demanded Meowth.  
  
Instantly, Giovanni told Meowth everything. He commanded Meowth to tell Jessie and James who he was.  
  
"Dis Wobbuffet is nuts! He t'inks he's da boss!" exclaimed Meowth, jumping back an inch or two.  
  
The Persian dropped the loyalty to Giovanni at Meowth's words. Persian, who had believed it had watched Giovanni be transformed, was now doubtful. It said in the Pokemon language, "Is it true? You're just a Wobbuffet? I thought I had watched a transformation of a human into a Wobbuffet, but maybe Alakazam's Confusion hit both of us. The confusion made me think a human became you, and made you think you were once human."  
  
Meowth told Jessie and James what Persian had said.  
  
"Hmm. If it IS the boss, we won't have to waste our time trying to get that Pikachu from the twerp, let alone other Pokemon," said Jessie.  
  
"Let's serve time for our crimes to clear our record. Then let's open our own fruit stand," James suggested.  
  
"Not a bad idea, Jim," Meowth replied. They captured Giovanni and his Persian. They followed through with their plan, too. (Which catches time back up.)  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~A night's journey from Professor Oak's Laboratory, night Animorphs went through Oberon's Gate~  
  
"What took you so long? We got bored waiting, so we started off," Brooklyn told the Animorphs when they arrived.  
  
"We apologize. It took us a while to before we could convince our families to let us go," Marco explained with a shrug.  
  
"Thank you for the lift, Mewtwo," Jake said.  
  
*You are welcome. I must get back to my duty guarding Oberon's Gate. Good luck to you all," the super-clone replied before teleporting away.  
  
"Do we wanna split back into groups?" Rachel asked. Everyone discussed the matter for a few minutes. Then they decided to split back into almost the same groups that they'd had before. One group had Jake, Cassie, Ax, Broadway, and Angela. The second party was made up from Brooklyn, Lexington, Rachel, Tobias, and Marco.  
  
They also decided they wanted to stop referring to only parts of the groups at all times. Instead, they wanted "team names." Jake's team became The Scorchers, and Brooklyn's group was dubbed The Warriors.  
  
The Scorchers and The Warriors released all their Pokemon. The two groups split up. The Warriors headed for Fuchsia City, and The Scorchers headed for Mount Moon.  
  
Along the way, Ax spotted a Pikachu. His curiosity took over. He walked over to it as silently as possible. Ax knew Pikachu weren't fond of being in Pokeballs, so he acquired its DNA!  
  
"Uh, Ax? Any reason you stopped?" Cassie asked.  
  
*I have acquired a new morph, Cassie. Prince Jake? May I try out this morph?* Ax inquired.  
  
"Sure. Go ahead," Jake replied.  
  
Ax began his morph. First, his fur changed from Andalite blue to the Pikachu pattern. Next, his stalk eyes and front legs dissolved into his body. Ax's six fingers melted into the five smaller fingers that Pikachu have. His hooves split into three toes. Then Ax's tail shrank and kinked, though the tail blade vanished into the tail. His face was the last thing to change and is too difficult to describe.  
  
Before he could get a grip on the instincts, he jumped into a tree, which was away from his friends! When he gained control at last, Ax went back to where the rest of The Scorchers were waiting.  
  
"What's it like?" Broadway asked.  
  
*Skiddish. The instincts of the Pikachu don't approve of human contact, and it associates all of you with humans,* Ax replied.  
  
"I think you're doing fine," Cassie's Chikarita said.  
  
"I agree," stated Jake's Houndour.  
  
"Can you use your morph to speak Pokemon?" Jake's Charmander asked.  
  
*Good question. I honestly do not know,* Ax replied. He thought for a moment. Then he tried to let his mouth form the statement of "Testing. Testing. One, two, three." What came out was, "Piiika. Piiika. Pikaachuu piik pikaa." *Did it work?* Ax inquired.  
  
"Sort of," Charmander replied. "You said, 'Testing. Testing. Three, five, twelve.' I don't think you meant to."  
  
*No, I did not. I meant "one, two, three." Although I enjoy making mouth-sounds, when in a Pokemorph, I will stick with thought-speak. It is not so complicated,* Ax thought-spoke. As he demorphed, the Pikachu Ax acquired DNA from revived from the tranquilizing that usually happens when a morph is acquired.  
  
"Piiikaa," it said as it staggered a moment.  
  
*I suppose I should have warned you of being dizzy. I apologize for the inconvenience. If I allowed you to stay outside of your Pokeball, would you let me be your trainer? And will you help me learn how to speak your language?* Ax asked the Pikachu.  
  
It considered for a moment. The Pikachu liked the idea, so it hopped in the Pokeball just long enough to be considered "captured" and popped back out.  
  
Pikachu, Ax, and Ax's Squirtle began to chat as the sun came up. The Scorchers pitched camp, for Broadway and Angela had turned to stone. Plus it began to rain.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~On the way to Fuchsia City, same night~  
  
"Hey, don't we know those trainers?" James asked. He and Jessie had exchanged their Team Rocket uniforms for some more practical clothing. They wore blue-grey T-shirts, navy denim pants, and greyish aprons.   
  
"They do look familiar," Jessie stated.  
  
"I know who dey are!" exclaimed Meowth. "Dey're da trainers dat can change into Pokemon."  
  
"I wonder if they're hungry?" Jessie more said than asked.  
  
"I dunno," Meowth said. Then he shouted to The Warriors, "You guys hungry? We have a nice selection of fruits."  
  
"I guess we could use a snack," said Brooklyn. All of them walked over to the fruit stand.   
  
"Don't we know you?" Rachel asked, suspicious.  
  
"Probably. Look, we served our time, cleared our records, and opened this stand," Jessie replied somewhat tartly.  
  
*I don't know why, but I actually believe them,* Tobias said in private thought-speak to the other Warriors.  
  
They trusted the ex-members of Team Rocket and purchased some fruit. The Warriors relaxed a little, ate their fruit, and had a polite conversation.  
  
Lexington's Meowth and the other Meowth had fun describing some of their adventures. Lexington decided his Meowth needed a nickname and discussed it with both Meowths. The nickname they selected was Tekkno because Lexington enjoys technology.  
  
The remaining Warriors liked the idea of giving the Pokemon nicknames also. Tobias dubbed his Pidgey Tornado. Brooklyn's Igglybuff was nicknamed Wind Song. Rachel decided to call her Teddiursa Griz. Marco's Scyther was dubbed Sir Knight, and he decided Charger would be his Ponyta's nickname.  
  
Tekkno asked, "Do you know of a safe place to spend the day?"  
  
"Sure. The Celadon Pokemon Center isn't too far away, is it?" James said.  
  
"How far away is it?" Tornado inquired.  
  
"Half an hour on foot," replied Jessie.  
  
"How long would take to fly?" asked Rachel, worried that the Gargoyles didn't have half an hour.  
  
"I dunno. I've never timed it," Meowth stated.  
  
"Would take less than fifteen minutes?" Charger asked.  
  
"Possibly," James replied.  
  
"All right. You three," Brooklyn pointed to Marco, Rachel, and Tobias, "morph to Pokemon. I don't know if our Pokemon will remain in their Pokeballs for the short flight, but I hope so." The Pokemon went back into the Pokeballs. The Animorphs morphed to two Pidgeots and a Charizard. Brooklyn rode Marco, who was a Pidgeot, and Lexington rode Tobias, who had morphed Charizard.  
  
They got to the center, handed over their Pokeballs, and the Gargoyles turned to stone! The Animorphs demorphed. Then they made themselves comfortable for a good day's rest.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~An hour before dawn of the same night on top of the Eyrie Building~  
  
Demona had seen the strange creatures on television. She knew that the dimension where the Animorphs and Gargoyles had got them from could be accessed through a certain gate. Demona wanted to recruit some of the strange creatures called Pokemon for getting rid of all humans.  
  
She had heard of the guardians of the gate. Demona knew one was called Mew and the other Mewtwo. The ancient warrior knew that was part of going through the gate.  
  
"Mew! I desire to travel through Oberon's Gate!" Demona declared.  
  
Mew popped in. One glance at Demona made it nervous. "You neither look nor sound friendly. Why should I let you through?"  
  
"Because if I don't relay an urgent and top secret message to the Gargoyles, there will surely be trouble," Demona lied. She looked at her talons in a rather bored manner.  
  
Mew thought about it. Then the kitten-like Pokemon said, "But I could convey the message to Mewtwo who could convey it to the Gargoyles."  
  
"That would never work. The message is strictly for Gargoyle ears. You don't want the message to be intercepted, do you?" The unfriendly Gargess folded her arms and glared at the little Pokemon.  
  
"No, I suppose not. Picture Professor Oak's lounge area. The gate will open once you do. Mewtwo will help you from there," Mew replied reluctantly.  
  
Demona managed to open the gate. She went through. What happened next has nothing to do with this story. The following story is recorded elsewhere.  
  
Temporarily The End 


	2. Part 2: Allegiances

Disclaimer: I don't own anything save for characters/species not already owned by someone else. I like Gargoyles, Animorphs, and Pokemon. This crossover story line contains all three. Enjoy! ~Grimwood ~grimwood83@yahoo.com  
  
Oh, a couple of notes: * = telepathy/thought-speak " = regular speech/quote ~Commercial Break~ = generally, a shift in characters and/or location that lets you take a break for getting a snack or whatever and can be ignored ~~ = automatic translation of the Pokemon spoken language. If you need to see what an Andalite looks like, go to www.scholastic.com/animorphs and click on the link that goes directly to the books. It shows Ax on some of the book covers, his brother on the cover to Andalite Chronicles, an Andalite female on Hork-Bajir Chronicles, and Visser Three/One, who has an Andalite host body, on Visser. IF a person wishes to "borrow" a character that I have invented, they must ASK FIRST! I will then consider letting them use it.  
  
Oberon's Gate  
  
Part 2: Allegiances  
  
~Professor Oak's lounge, right after Demona went through Oberon's Gate~  
  
Professor Oak looked up at the entrance of a female Gargoyle that he was unfamiliar with. He greeted, "Hello, there. I'm Professor Oak. I could have your Pokedex ready for you in a jiffy if you'll tell me your name, madame."  
  
"I am called Demona. I have no need of your human assistance," she growled. Demona then brandished her weapon.  
  
*Put that away at once!* demanded Mewtwo.  
  
"Why should I? Humans generally make a nuisance of their selves. This is my safety precaution," Demona snarled, patting her weapon. Mewtwo gripped her glistening weapon telekinetically. "What is going on?" the gargess demanded to know as Mewtwo managed to toss it aside.  
  
*I trust no device made by humans,* explained the super-clone.  
  
"It's humans I don't trust!" Demona not quite yelled. Her tail flicked viciously to the left for emphasis.  
  
*I will not question your dislike of humans in general. However, a select few of them I have found trustworthy.*  
  
"Excuse me, but-" Professor Oak began.  
  
"Silence, human," Demona stated with the air of "humans" being as disgusting as fresh road-kill.  
  
*Professor Oak is one human I have learned to trust. You need not scold him for speaking,* Mewtwo interjected.  
  
"Oh, all right. I'll listen to him," Demona said without sincerity. Her tail flicked back the other way in irritation. She folded her arms and wings.   
  
"What I want to ask is why you're in this world if you mistrust humans so much," said Professor Oak. He added, "Also, why be here if you didn't plan having a Pokedex and be registered for training Pokemon?"  
  
Demona gave deep sigh of exasperation, and her arms fell to her sides. Taking a few steps towards the Professor, she said, "I am relaying an urgent message to Brooklyn. It is a top secret message for Gargoyle ears only."  
  
*If that is the case, I will transport you to him. But only if that truly is the case,* Mewtwo told her sternly with a flick of his own tail.  
  
"'If'? What do you mean by 'if'?" Demona replied with as much innocence as she could muster. She glared at the super-clone suspiciously as she spoke. Her hands were also now on her hips.  
  
*I mean that I do not believe you.* Mewtwo marginally shifted his floating position to the left and back again.  
  
"You're mad. Of course I'm telling the truth," Demona lied. She lashed her tail and pointed an accusing finger at Mewtwo while she spoke.  
  
*No, you are not. Perhaps you have not noticed that I am a psychic, and it's your thoughts which betray you. I wonder how you got passed Mew?*  
  
"He believed me, that's how!" Demona fumed. Before Mewtwo could react, she chanted some Latin words that transported her nearly all the way to Celadon.  
  
*This cannot be a good thing,* Mewtwo said, looking at Professor Oak.  
  
"I agree. What are we going to do?" he agreed, looking back at the super-clone.  
  
Mewtwo glanced to where Demona had been. *I do not know.*  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Macbeth's Hideout, same night Demona went through the gate~  
  
One of Macbeth's will o' the wisps came back suddenly. It showed him Demona going through a blue portal at the top of the Eyrie Building. "I wonder what she thinks she's doing?" Macbeth wondered aloud in a heavy Scottish accent. The will o' the wisp did not answer. "I suppose I'd better go after her an' stop whate'er plans Demona's plotting." Macbeth headed for the Eyrie Building.  
  
When he arrived, Xanatos was just telling Mew the worst part of Demona getting through the gate. He was saying, "I know you did your best. It's just that if Demona actually gets Pokemon to fight with her, all humanity will be doomed."  
  
"Mr. Xanatos? Who or what is that?" Macbeth asked, spotting Mew.  
  
"Ah, Macbeth! This is Mew, a Pokemon. He guards one side of Oberon's Gate while his mutated clone guards the other. Mew, this is an ally: Macbeth," Xanatos introduced the two.  
  
"If Oberon's Gate is the blue portal Demona vanished through, I wish tae go through as well," stated Macbeth half thoughtfully and half matter-of-fact-ly.  
  
"It is, Macbeth. Um, why do you want to get through to the Pokeworld? Oh, and I hope it's a pleasure to meet you," Mew said worriedly.  
  
Macbeth blinked and stepped back. "Aye, it's a pleasure. I'm pleased to meet you, as well." He bowed to the little Pokemon and extended his hand. After Mew figured out that it was supposed to shake the extended hand, the kitten-like Pokemon put its paw in Macbeth's hand and shook it. Macbeth then answered Mew's first question, "I wish to go through Oberon's Gate because I am the only one who can deal with Demona effectively."  
  
"All right," Mew replied. It teleported Macbeth to the top of the Eyrie Building. he used his telepathy to show Macbeth the lounge at Professor Oak's. "Keep your mind focused on that scene. Then the gate will open." Mew then went back to continue talking with Xanatos.  
  
Macbeth focused on the picture Mew had shown him. A bright flash of blue interrupted his concentration. The blue widened into a vast portal. "Interesting," Macbeth stated. He walked through the portal, explained things to the wary Professor Oak and Mewtwo, and asked for help.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~A few miles from Celadon City, an hour later~  
  
"Ah," Demona sighed, "another glorious dawn!" She shifted into her human form. Demona had somehow managed to fit an entire black business suit, which she chose to wear while in human form, inside of a belt pouch! Demona took out the outfit and changed clothes behind a tree.  
  
"Now, how do I find one of those Poke-things?" she muttered aloud. From behind her came a sudden burst of fire! Demona whipped around, shouting, "HEY! Watch who you're scorching!" All she heard in response was growling. "Show your self!" Demona demanded.  
  
Out walked a Pokemon, or rather, what Demona thought was a Pokemon. It was the size and build of a fully grown red wolf. Its fur was mottled oranges, reds, and yellows. Little tufts of flame were at each ankle, and a long stripe of fire went from the forehead to the base of the tail.  
  
"Come here, fiery one. I won't hurt you. I wish to be your ally," Demona coaxed.  
  
The fire wolf backed up a couple of steps. Snarling, the flame on its back got a little bit taller. It opened its maw and out came a burst of fire! Demona hastily jumped out of the way. "I'd say you didn't trust me. Well, I suppose I could look elsewhere for a Pokemon friend," Demona said. With that, she left the strange wolf in order to locate more cooperative allies.  
  
Still snarling, the fiery wolf headed off in the opposite direction. She knew that the other legendaries HAD to be warned of this human. The she-wolf also knew that this human wasn't purely human nor Pokemon. For that matter, the "hybrid" doubted that the human's alternate form was a Pokemon at all.  
  
Had Demona turned around, she might have seen the flaming wolf burst into a bonfire and seemingly vanish. The hybrid hadn't vanished, not really. She had merely used a tactic that her instincts called a "Fire Burst," which would make her run at the speed of light.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Fuchsia City Pokemon Center, following night~  
  
Professor Oak had convinced Macbeth to stay at the lab for the day. Mewtwo had utilized the time Macbeth rested to locate whichever group had Brooklyn. The super-clone's reason was that Demona had mentioned that particular Gargoyle by name and would probably head for him first. The group he located had been the Warriors.  
  
Macbeth reached them easily with Mewtwo's help.  
  
"MACBETH!" Brooklyn and Lexington exclaimed, shocked. They had both jumped up and their eyes flashed white with Gargoyle fury.  
  
*Who's he?* Tobias asked. Brooklyn's eyes returned their usual color.  
  
"He's Macbeth," Lexington replied, pointing to Macbeth. His eyes stopped glowing, but he still didn't sound too happy. "He isn't exactly an ally or friend."  
  
"Is he an enemy? Is he a trainer?" Tekkno asked.  
  
"Easy, laddies. Oh, and, uh, lass," said Macbeth as he noticed Rachel.  
  
"Hi, Macbeth. Er, that is your name?" Rachel responded. She was a tad skeptical because she had always thought that it was just a name of a character in one of Shakespear's plays.  
  
"Aye, it 'tis. An' who might ye be?" Macbeth asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"I'm Marco. That 'lass' is Rachel. The hawk's Tobias. I'm guessing you already know Brooklyn and Lexington," Marco stated.  
  
"Aye, that I do."  
  
Marco nodded. Then he continued, "These are our Pokemon: Charger, Sir Knight, Tekkno, Wind Song, Griz, and Tornado." Marco took in Macbeth's abrupt appearance in the Poke-Center. He noticed the white hair and grayscale outfit. Marco suddenly asked, "What you doing here?"  
  
"I've come to stop Demona," Macbeth replied.  
  
"DEMONA?! She's HERE? In the Pokeworld?!" Brooklyn growled. His eyes went white again and he stood a little bit straighter.  
  
"Aye, lad. An' I'm gonna keep 'er from following through with 'er plans."  
  
"I'll be more than glad to help. Wind Song? Will you-"  
  
"Hold on. Is Demona a common foe?" Tekkno interrupted.  
  
"Demona's dangerous to all humans and those that trust 'em," Brooklyn explained.  
  
"Why is she so mad at humans? Some of you are quite friendly," Sir Knight stated.  
  
"Because it was some humans that betrayed her clan. Because humans have hunted her for a very long time. Because she is immortally bound to a human, namely me. Those are the basic reasons," explained Macbeth as he ticked the reasons off on his fingers.  
  
"Oh. Any idea what her plans are?" Griz inquired. Griz had developed some of Rachel's ever- ready-for-a-fight-ness.   
  
"Beyond destruction of the human race? Havna clue," replied Macbeth.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~In the Forests on Mount Moon, day Demona met Callahan~  
  
~~Entei, I am sorry to interrupt the Legend's Council,~~ the fiery she-wolf spoke up. Her Fire Burst had taken her to a hidden cavern deep in Mount Moon. The Legend's Council was seated in the center of the cave. Going clockwise and starting at the farthest from her were: Entei, Lugia, Ho-oh, Raikou, Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno.  
  
~~Callahan? What brings you here?~~ Entei asked.  
  
~~I know this is going to sound strange, but I watched a strange creature turn into a human. It was at dawn today. I was a few miles from the human establishment they call Celadon,~~ Callahan, the fiery she-wolf, replied.  
  
~~What did this creature look like?~~ Moltres asked.  
  
~~She was purplish. Looked like a mutated Aerodactyl. She had arms, a flattened face, and red hair. She was nearly six feet tall! She smelled kinda funny, too,~~ Callahan told them.  
  
~~How so?~~ Ho-oh inquired.  
  
~~I dunno. Kinda like she had carried something metallic. Kinda like she encountered Mew and Mewtwo. Kinda like she had a bad attitude,~~ replied the hybrid.  
  
~~This isn't good. I thought that Mew and Mewtwo didn't get along. Not to mention the fact that they are rarely both encountered by the same person or creature,~~ Zapdos said, glancing at each of the Pokemon in the cave. As an afterthought, the electric bird-like Pokemon asked, ~~What did this not-quite-a-human-or-Pokemon want? Or did she not say?~~  
  
~~She said that she wanted to be my ally. When I refused, she said she'd find one elsewhere. This creature seems to want Pokemon allies, but she didn't seem too keen on telling the reasons behind it,~~ said Callahan. She looked up at the council with ears laid flat, bracing for a reprimand. Fortunately, one didn't come.  
  
~~Hmm. Mew and Mewtwo ARE the most powerful Pokemon. They might be able to help,~~ Lugia suggested.  
  
~~They might, if they weren't pre-occupied,~~ Articuno stated.  
  
~~What do you mean?~~ Raikou wanted to know. It shot a shocked look over at Articuno, who merely glared around at everyone.  
  
Articuno replied, ~~Mew is in the dimension of Callahan's father. Mewtwo is staying at the building belonging to the human called Professor Oak.~~  
  
~~WHAT?!~~ the rest of the council shouted. They started to speak simultaneously. All their words became jumbled and incoherent.  
  
"SILENCE!" a new voice shouted. The Pokemon and Callahan all jumped. They looked around for a while until they all saw him: Lord Oberon! "That's better. Now, listen well. We are Lord Oberon, ruler of Avalon. We have requested that the Pokemon Mew and Mewtwo guard our gate.  
  
"The female gargoyle, Demona, tricked Guardian Mew into letting her pass through our gate. It is NOT Guardian Mew's fault. The fault lies with Demona, who wishes to wipe all humans out of existence for events that have passed a thousand years ago. She desires vengeance upon the human race, yet she is responsible for more Gargoyle deaths than any one human."  
  
~~Okay, and how can she be a thousand years old?~~ Zapdos asked.  
  
~~How do you know all this? How do you know our language?~~ Ho-oh inquired. It had noticed that Lord Oberon, what ever else he was, wasn't a Pokemon.  
  
Oberon raised his eyebrow and said, "It is due to a spell our children cast upon her. This spell immortally binds her to a human whose name is Macbeth. This spell also causes them to feel one another's pain. Lastly, the spell will only end when one of them kills the other by their own hand.  
  
"We know all this because our children have reported it to us. As for your language, we deemed this knowledge necessary."  
  
The Legend's Council exchanged rather shocked glances. They concluded, without saying anything, that it was best to take Lord Oberon at his word.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~That night, a night's worth of travel from Professor Oak's~  
  
Broadway and Angela had just woke up. The rest of the group was half-way through breaking camp. "Good evening, everyone," Angela said. Then a round of greetings was passed around and the Gargoyles had some breakfast. They helped finish breaking camp. Everyone was in a pretty good mood.  
  
The Scorchers decided to continue on their way. They were in the middle of a peaceful discussion when Mewtwo appeared! Everyone jumped, startled by the super-clone's abrupt appearance.  
  
*Sorry about startling you,* Mewtwo apologized. *This is very important. Last night, one hour before dawn, a female Gargoyle went through the gate. Her name is Demona.*  
  
"Why would my mother come to the Pokeworld?" Angela inquired. She and the others all looked straight at Mewtwo.   
  
*I do not know. However, that is not all. A human also passed through Oberon's Gate. He went through around dawn. His name is Macbeth,* the super-clone informed them.  
  
Broadway and Angela exchanged glances. The Animorphs and all the Pokemon present were extremely confused. The first to voice it, however, was Jake's recently evolved Charizard. It said, "I don't understand. Who're Macbeth and Demona?" Mewtwo had already vanished.  
  
Angela spoke up and said, "Demona is my biological mother. She doesn't trust the clan or humans."  
  
"She also doesn't like anyone that DOES trust humans," Broadway added.  
  
"As for Macbeth, he is an acquaintance of ours. He's magically bound to my mother until they kill each other. In the meantime, when they stand close enough together, they share each other's pain," Angela informed the others.  
  
"That sounds horrible," said Jake. Though the group discussed it, they couldn't think of anything that they could do.   
  
The Scorchers knew that they might encounter Demona at any time. They couldn't prepare for her because of two reasons: One, they didn't know when or where they'd encounter her. Two, The Scorchers didn't know what Demona would do to them when they DID meet up with her. The only thing they could do was to continue their Pokemon journey.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Four months later, at Professor Oak's~  
  
"Demona sure has managed to stay out of sight," Brooklyn said, disgruntled. Both The Warriors and The Scorchers had decided to go back through the gate. By now, most of them had somewhere between three and five Pokemon. Macbeth didn't have any because he wasn't registered. Tobias only had Tornado because he thought that capturing other Pokemon wasn't worth the bother of morphing something with hands to throw a Pokeball with. The others did have new Pokemon, which needed to learn to speak English.  
  
Brooklyn's Pokemon now included a Poliwhirl, a Sandslash, Eevee, and of course Wind Song. He nicknamed Poliwhirl Tyde, Sandslash Deputy, and Eevee Soda.  
  
Broadway had only managed to capture a third Pokemon. It happened to be a Growlithe. He decided to call his Stantler Myth, Bulbasaur Bayn, and Growlithe Pyro.  
  
Marco had a lot of luck. He had three new Pokemon: Mareep and two Phanpy. He called one Phanpy Hurky and the other Purky. Marco nicknamed his Mareep Fyber.  
  
Cassie had only one new Pokemon: a Dragonair. Cassie, Jake, and Ax didn't nickname their Pokemon yet. Jake had captured a Primeape, a Cyndaquil, and a Quagsire. Ax managed to gain only a third Pokemon also: a Magby.  
  
Angela nicknamed her Stantler Legend. She didn't nickname Totodile. Angela had captured a Bellosom, which also did not recieve a nickname. Her fourth Pokemon wasn't nicknamed either, and it was a Spinarak.  
  
Rachel had managed to catch two Ditto. She called one Gem and the other Ace.  
  
Professor Oak had told everyone that their Pokemon should rest for the day. He also told them that they should rest, too. The humans and Gargoyles rested peacefully that day as did their Pokemon.  
  
That night, Macbeth offered to stay behind. Then everyone else went through Oberon's Gate.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Same night, Central Park~  
  
Hudson had Bronx out for a walk. Bronx started to bark frantically.  
  
"What is it, boy? What d'ye smell?" Hudson asked. Bronx continued to bark, then began to run. Hudson did his best to follow the Gargbeast. When he finally saw what Bronx had smelled, Hudson's jaw dropped! Finally, he said, "What're ye s'posed tae be?"  
  
Callahan literally sat there, bewildered. She wondered if they were part of the clan Oberon had told her and the Legend's Council about. The flaming she-wolf cautiously approached Bronx and Hudson.   
  
Suddenly, Callahan spotted a larger creature swooping down. This one had black hair, was very tall, and had a purplish-grey skin. It was wearing a brownish article of clothing about its waist that Callahan was unfamiliar with. She thought it smelled strongly of tanned hide. She cocked her head to the left, deciding that the taller one looked younger and all of them smelled trustworthy.  
  
She was startled when the tall one asked the brown one, "Hudson? Is everything all right?" Callahan figured that "Hudson" must be the nickname of the older creature. She wished Oberon had told her the name of their species. She cocked her head the other way and sat back down.  
  
"Aye, lad. Bronx an' I were jus' tryin' ta figure this wolf out," the brown one replied. "Goliath, what d'ye s'pose would bewitch a wolf tae be on fire like tha'?" Callahan wondered then if all of their species were giving nicknames. Then she remembered that they weren't Pokemon and most non-Pokemon had NAMES, not NICK-names. As she sighed, a little curl of smoke came out her nose.  
  
"I do not know and doubt that I wish to," Goliath stated, stepping back a little. Callahan decided that she should trust them to get the council's message to Oberon. She stood up and walked forward. Then the flaming wolf reached for a fire-proof container that had been placed on a special band about her neck. The container held the message for Lord Oberon from the Legend's Council.  
  
As she carefully gripped the package in her mouth, the scent of an approaching human reached her nose. Callahan threw caution to the wind and jerked the package out of its place on her band. She thrust it toward the two digitigrade creatures. She didn't want a human to see her, not yet, anyway.  
  
"I wonder what this could be," said Hudson, catching the package with his right hand. Callahan teleported in a burst of purple fire back to the Pokeworld.  
  
"Hey, guys!" Elisa happily greeted her friends. She spotted the package in Hudson's hand. She asked, "What's that?"  
  
"A delivery from a strange wolf that was on fire. May I see it, Hudson?" asked Goliath. Hudson handed it over. Goliath studied it for a moment. He nearly dropped the package when he read the to whom it was addressed. "Jalapeno! It's addressed to Lord Oberon!"  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Eyrie Building, right after The Scorchers and The Warriors went through the gate~  
  
Oberon was talking with Mew when they arrived. "Oh, good! Just the Fay we wanted to see," Marco said as he spotted Lord Oberon. The mighty ruler of Avalon raised a quizzical brow. Marco continued, "We have more Pokemon that need to speak English."  
  
"Hmm. Will I always have to enchant your Pokemon as you gain new ones?" Oberon inquired. Lord Oberon wasn't very fond of the idea. He even had his arms folded in distaste.  
  
"Well, you don't HAVE to, but we would appreciate it," Cassie told him.  
  
"I have a better idea," Lord Oberon stated. "I shall cast a seperate spell. First, however, I must remove the ability of your Pokemon to speak English." Oberon waved his hand, cancelling the speech spell, which didn't effect Mew. He waved his hand again as he chanted, "Any who pass through Oberon's Gate the Pokemon language can now translate."  
  
"Uh, does that mean we can translate now, or do we have to cross through the gate first?" asked Brooklyn. Wind Song had floated into Brooklyn's arms, and Soda was on his left shoulder.   
  
Oberon sighed deeply. Then he waved his hand for a third time. Then he said, "You are now covered."  
  
Suddenly, Goliath carrying Elisa and Hudson carrying Callahan's package landed next to everyone.  
  
"Hello again," Elisa said to the crowd.  
  
"Yuir Majesty? A flaming wolf gave this to us before vanishing in a purple fire," Hudson stated, handing the package to Oberon.  
  
Lord Oberon opened the package. Inside was a letter. It read:  
  
Our deepest apologies for bothering Your Majesty. However, it has  
come to our attention that Demona has allied herself with several   
Pokemon. They are three Gengar, one Alakazam, the super-clone   
Gyarados, the super-clone Charizard, and five Donphan.  
  
We are doing the best we can to warn all Pokemon of Demona's faults.  
Fortunately, most have listened to us and are helping spread the   
word.  
  
Again, we apologize for the inconvenience.  
  
Your Allies,  
  
Members of the Legend's Council  
  
Entei, Moltres, Raikou, Zapdos, Ho-oh, Articuno, Lugia  
  
"Who are they?" Angela asked after Oberon read the letter aloud to everyone.  
  
~~They, Mew, and Mewtwo are all considered to be extremely rare. Because they rarely show them- selves to humans, they are considered legends. For that matter, most of them are considered non- existent by humans. The strange thing is, Pokemon get messages from them frequently in the wild. Since most domesticated Pokemon can't speak or aren't visited at all, "pet" Pokemon don't tell humans of the truth behind the legends,~~ Myth explained.  
  
Since Goliath, Hudson, and Elisa looked utterly baffled, Broadway repeated Myth's explanation.  
  
"But why would Demona make allies with Pokemon? No offense, but I just don't see what could possibly attract any to her," said a stumped Elisa.  
  
~~I think that those Pokemon are not fond of humans. If that's the case. . . .~~ Tekkno let the possibilities hang in the air for a while. At least, it was long enough for someone to translate for the benefits of Elisa, Hudson, and Goliath.  
  
"If that's the case," Hudson repeated and added, "they'd be willing to help 'er eliminate all humans." While Hudson had been talking, Oberon made so Elisa, Goliath, and Hudson could understand without having things being translated.  
  
~~There is one flaw to that,~~ Tekkno stated.  
  
"An' what t'would that be, lad?" Hudson asked. He folded his arms. Goliath moved about three steps forward. Elisa continued to be at a complete loss.  
  
~~Well, I think that what Tekkno means is that since Pokemon generally do what their trainers tell them to, and since most wild ones are merely trying to survive, Pokemon wouldn't deliberately kill a human. Even when we battle, we only do one of two things: one, get badly injured. Two, we increase our levels,~~ replied Pyro.  
  
~~Exactly. Besides which, the only time a Pokemon does any killing is when it is a carnivore getting some dinner,~~ Tekkno stated.  
  
"Guys?" Jake interrupted the conversation. Everyone looked at him, so Jake continued, "Don't you think you should get back in your Poke-balls for now? I mean, there's a lot more of you now, and moving around in this world would be safer for you in the Poke-balls. You don't have to, but I would still recommend it." Although startled, the Pokemon agreed that this wasn't a bad idea. Soon, all the Pokemon save Ax's Pikachu, which understandably refused, were inside their Poke-balls. Instead, Pikachu hopped up onto Ax's right shoulder.  
  
*Prince Jake? When will we next return to the Pokeworld?* Ax inquired.  
  
"I dunno. Demona's still in it, so-" Jake began. Unfortunately, he was interrupted by a burst of fire that was purple and in the center of the group!  
  
~Okay, normally I wouldn't do this, but. . . .~  
  
TO BE CONTINUED. . . 


	3. Part 3: Cubed Evolution

Disclaimer: I don't own anything save for characters/species not already owned by someone else. I like Gargoyles, Animorphs, and Pokemon. This crossover story line contains all three. Enjoy! ~Grimwood ~grimwood83@yahoo.com  
  
Oh, a couple of notes: * = telepathy/thought-speak " = regular speech/quote ~Commercial Break~ = generally, a shift in characters and/or location that lets you take a break for getting a snack or whatever and can be ignored ~~ = automatic translation of the Pokemon spoken language # = translated Yeerk speech. If you need to see what an Andalite looks like, go to www.scholastic.com/animorphs and click on the link that goes directly to the books. It shows Ax on some of the book covers, his brother on the cover to Andalite Chronicles, an Andalite female on Hork-Bajir Chronicles, and Visser Three/One, who has an Andalite host body, on Visser. IF a person wishes to "borrow" a character that I have invented, they must ASK FIRST! I will then consider letting them use it.  
  
Oberon's Gate  
  
Part 3: Cubed Evolution  
  
~Highest tower of the Eyrie Building~  
  
Callahan let the gentle breeze blow the purple fire out. She stood there, looking at her audience. Privately, the female not-quite-a-wolf thought that the Legend's Council must be going bezerk. The fiery wolf spotted the various humans, Gargoyles, and of course Oberon. The only Pokemon the hybrid could see was Mew and a Pikachu.  
  
The Pikachu, the she-wolf noticed, was on the shoulder of a very peculiar looking animal. Callahan knew it wasn't a Pokemon, but she didn't know what it was, either. It was blue, had a similar build to the mythological centaurs, and the air of a warrior. Its tail was like a very furry, venom-less scorpion tail. It had no mouth and three vertical slits where the nose should be. The hands had what the hybrid thought was too many fingers. Also, it had not only two eyes directly on its face, but it also had a pair of them on constantly swiveling stalks!  
  
~~Okay, maybe I came through at the wrong place or possibly time,~~ Callahan stated, stepping back.  
  
"What brings you here?" Oberon demanded to know.  
  
~~Oh, Your Majesty! You received the message from the Legend's Council, didn't you?~~ Callahan asked as she bowed to Lord Oberon.  
  
The ruler of Avalon raised his eyebrow, folded his arms, and said, "Yes. Why do you inquire?"  
  
Callahan scratched her ear with a hind foot before replying, ~~Because we need some help. The council has been debating on it for quite some time. The help we need is going to sound like a lot, but it isn't. When you first told us of Demona, we began trying to warn Pokemon. Now, we need a gym to help warn trainers.  
  
~~The council thinks that your allies could build and run such a gym. The members of the Legend's Council also say that to help, they will make a few visits to the gym. Their only other request is that the badge the gym awards be called the Legend's Badge.~~ Callahan reached behind herself with her mouth to the place where the message for Oberon had been stored.  
  
Elisa stepped forward and offered some assistance. Callahan accepted, and Elisa retrieved a piece of parchment. Unrolling it, Elisa saw that it was blue prints for the badge! "The Legend's Council must be quite intelligent to come up with all this," the cop said. She handed the paper to Rachel, who looked very excited.  
  
The picture on the paper showed actually several different badge designs. Each one showed a different legendary Pokemon on a badge. Some designs even had multiple legendary Pokemon on them. Rachel stated, "I thought a gym could only pass around one badge design."  
  
~~The Legend's Council decided that the humans to run the gym must pick which design to use,~~ Callahan explained, undaunted. She laid down with her head resting on her paws.  
  
Hudson looked thoughtfully at the parchment. It had been passed around for a moment so that everyone could get a good look. Then the eldest of the Gargoyles said, "Looks as though each wants its own badge."  
  
Callahan chuckled with her head slightly off her paws. ~~Now you know why the gym leaders need to pick the badge.~~ The fiery wolf shifted into a sitting position while she spoke.  
  
"COOL!" Rachel exclaimed.  
  
"Isn't that just like you, Xena?" Marco said more than asked. "Jake, I vote Rachel for Gym Leader."  
  
Jake looked at Marco, then at Rachel. The "leader" of the Animorphs replied, "Okay. Any other nominees?" No one spoke up, so Jake continued, "All in favor of Rachel as Gym Leader, say 'Aye'." He received a chorus of "Aye"s. "That's settled. Okay, team. Ready to go back through the gate and establish a gym? OR do we want to spend a few weeks here?"  
  
"Uh, Jake? I'd like to go show off my new friends to my family first," Marco admitted with a lopsided grin.  
  
Rachel wanted to okay her moving to the Pokeworld with her family, though she was pretty much planning on doing so anyway. Soon enough, the Animorphs departed with the promise of being back in a few weeks to get things going.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Six months later, deep in the Johto Region, at the newest gym~  
  
Rachel had recruited Macbeth as her co-gym leader. So far, they had only had two challengers. Of those two, only one of them had received the Legend's Badge. Oddly enough, the "winner" had been Marco. The "loser" had been one of the Pokeworld's trainers: Gary Oak!  
  
Gary had wanted to battle Rachel, literally. He wanted to pit his Umbreon against her grizzly morph. Rachel, not being a Pokemon, had done quite well. Griz had complemented her on it.  
  
~~D'ya think that any Ditto could go up against an Animorph?~~ Griz had asked with a glance at Rachel's two. Rachel shrugged.  
  
Suddenly, her two rambunctious little sisters came racing in. Griz and Rachel grinned. It had taken about a week to convince their mother, Naomi, to let them all live in the gym. The clinchers had been Macbeth's arguments that: A) he could easily provide "adult supervision" and B) the girls would have the combined protection of him, various Pokemon, and Rachel. In addition Xanatos said something to the effect of Naomi being a Legal Ambassador for the two worlds, and that with her help further catastrophes similar to Demona's would be stopped.   
  
Shortly following the girls' entrance, two Pokemon came in. The first was a Vulpix nicknamed Pixie and trained by Sara. The second, which was being trained by Jordan, was an Eevee nicknamed Vixen.  
  
Macbeth, who had gone through the gate to talk to Naomi, looked at everyone with a stern face. "All right, you two. Yuir mother made me promise tae have ye in bed by midnight," he said. Partly, they were allowed up that late to see the Gargoyles. Macbeth continued, "It's time tae get ready for bed."  
  
"Aww! Do we really have to?" Sara complained, showing big "puppy eyes."  
  
"Yes, or else I'll tell yuir mother that ye need a few days back home." He glanced at the two sharply. One of his Pokemon, a Gengar he called Banshee, looked at Pixie and Vixen in a no-nonsense you-need-to-rest-too sort of way.  
  
The girls and their Pokemon walked somberly out of the room. Rachel said, "They'll get used to all of this eventually."  
  
Tobias swooped in, followed closely by Tornado. Tornado had evolved into a Pidgeotto. *Why're they so glum?* the red-tailed hawk asked with a quick glance at the four youngsters.  
  
"They wanted to stay up late and Macbeth put his foot down," Rachel explained with another shrug.  
  
~~Oh, is that all?~~ Tornado quipped.  
  
Soon enough, Lexington and his Pokemon walked in. "Hey, guys! Can we try for a badge? Marco's been showing his around as if he was advertising for you," the green Gargoyle stated.  
  
"Aye, we accept yuir challenge. An' which of us would ye rather go against?" replied Macbeth with one eyebrow raised and a fist on his hip.  
  
"If it's okay, I'd like to battle you, Macbeth," Lexington replied, pointing to the millennia-old warrior. Banshee and a Houndoom stepped forward. Lexington's Meowth Tekkno, Tauros Mesa, and Furret Oz, none of which had been in a Poke-ball all night, looked startled. They'd never been up against a Gengar before and had heard how difficult such battles could be to win.   
  
However, they were also very loyal to Lexington. Not one of them wanted to let the green Gargoyle down. What startled everyone in the gym was a blast of purple fire! Emerging from the flames was no other than-  
  
"Callahan!" Rachel shouted, shocked. No one had seen her or any legendary Pokemon for at least two whole months! "Whatchya up to?"  
  
~~Oh! I'm terribly sorry. Have I interrupted something?~~ she replied when she saw Lexington, Macbeth, and their Pokemon.  
  
"No, not really. They hadn't started their battle yet," Rachel stated calmly.   
  
~~Good. The Legend's Council has located Demona's hideout. It's not easy to reach.~~  
  
*Then how do we get there?* Tobias asked, focusing his sharp gaze on the fiery wolf.  
  
The hybrid sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. She sighed again and said, ~~The council says that my Fireburst is the only way to get there. Unfortunately, a series of tests showed that I can't transport anyone but myself when I use either my Fireburst or Fireport.~~  
  
*Fireburst and Fireport?* Tobias wanted to know. His already sharp gaze intensified.  
  
Callahan shook her head, not sure how to explain. Finally, the she-wolf replied, ~~"Fireport" is when I go between the dimensions without using Oberon's gate. "Fireburst" lets me travel at the speed of light. It starts with a burst of orange fire.~~  
  
~~Okay. Next question. Where is Demona's lair?~~ Tekkno asked, swishing its tail.  
  
Callahan hung her head. She knew how to get there but didn't know the name of the place and said as much in a quiet voice.  
  
"Then how're we tae get there?" Macbeth inquired. He now had both fists on his hips and a deep scowl on his face.  
  
~~The Andalite morphing technology,~~ Callahan said weakly.  
  
*WHAT?!* Tobias exclaimed and flapped his wings in surprise while Rachel jumped back a bit. Just then, several more purple fires appeared! From each one emerged a Callahan look-a-like. Jake was the first to demorph. Brooklyn went next and held a small blue cube in one hand. What was even more surprising was that not only did the trainers from the Gargoyles' dimension demorph but all of their Pokemon did, too!  
  
"No way!" exclaimed Rachel in disbelief.  
  
"Rach, you're gonna love this morph," said Marco, patting Rachel's shoulder knowingly.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Half an hour later, everyone - and that includes the trio, Angela, the original six Animorphs, Macbeth, Jordan, Sara, and all of their various Pokemon save Rachel's two Ditto - has morphed to Canis flamus (the Ditto used Transform and took on the form) and is at the entrance to Demona's Hideout~  
  
Callahan watched as the others demorphed. She had rather enjoyed having them along. After all, the hybrid reminded herself somewhat sadly, she HAD been the only one of her kind in that litter. She shook her head to clear away any tears before the others could take notice.  
  
~~Well,~~ the fiery she-wolf began after the demorphing was complete, ~~behind this boulder is the entrance to Demona's lair.~~ Callahan tapped the specified boulder with her left fore-paw. ~~It is too big for me to move alone. Will you help me?~~  
  
~~Why bother? We could just phase right through. Morph ME!~~ Macbeth's Gengar Banshee declared. They acquired its DNA. Then Brooklyn had Callahan touch the cube. She, too, acquired Banshee's DNA. Soon, the team was following it's lead.  
  
~Demona's Hideout, main cavern, several hours - not to mention demorphs and remorphs - later~  
  
*This is so weird! I love it!* Rachel exclaimed. Everyone else laughed quietly. Banshee had given them a crash course in how to be invisible and/or intangible.   
  
The three Gengar that had sided with Demona sensed the vast number of others. One of them tried unsuccessfully to inform the Gargess. The problem was, Demona hadn't used Oberon's Gate since her first time. She couldn't understand the Pokemon language! Demona did, however, notice that the Gengar were acting strangely.  
  
"I wish I still possessed the Grimorum Arcanorum," she muttered. The female Gargoyle figured that the spellbook would have had a spell for translating languages. She turned back to a large parchment on which was her "plans".   
  
Marco privately thought spoke to Ax, *Uh, Ax-man? How much longer do we have in morph?*  
  
Ax replied, *Thirty of your minutes.*  
  
*For the trillionth time, Ax! They're everyone's minutes!* Marco chided. Everyone telepathically laughed at the two of them openly. Marco and Ax hadn't concealed the latter part of their discussion from the rest of the group.  
  
"What was that?!" Demona demanded, her head shooting straight up. She looked all around her, but couldn't find the source of the laughter.  
  
*Macbeth?* Jake began.  
  
*Yes?* came the response.  
  
*Since you said that you know how to deal with Demona, what's the game plan?*  
  
*First, ye'll need tae know that when Demona gets attacked, I'll feel it. Tha's if I'm too close. Perchance we need a distraction to draw her friends away. Callahan's Fireport should do th' trick.*  
  
Callahan caught the cue. She demorphed quickly. Fortunately, Demona's head was down again. The hybrid shot a stream of fire at Demona's Pokemon. That got their attention! Then, the fiery wolf vanished in a burst of purple fire.  
  
Demona's Pokemon left, passing through the intangible and invisible Pokemon, Gargoyles, humans, and Ax! They'd never known of a Pokemon to use a Teleport technique with fire before. They figured that this Pokemon would make a good ally.  
  
Macbeth and his Pokemon followed. *We shall take special care of them! Ye'll need to wait for Banshee to return before ye render Demona unconscious,* Macbeth explained. *Good luck, my friends.*  
  
*Okay, what's part two of plan A?* Charger asked.  
  
*Shouldn't we figure out who's in charge first?* Tekkno countered. The vote was majority rules and Brooklyn won reluctantly.  
  
*Hey, could've been worse. We could've had a tie,* Jake pointed out.  
  
Brooklyn wanted to sigh, but he didn't want to risk giving away their position, either. *Alright. First, Ax? How much time is left for our morphs?*   
  
Ax replied hastily, *Twenty-five of your minutes.*  
  
*Marco, don't even,* Brooklyn warned. Then he continued, *Just be glad telepathic conversations don't take long.  
  
*Okay, here's the plan: Rachel, you use whatever attack you want to get Demona's attention. Once we have that, everyone demorph. However, Rachel WILL NOT begin her attacks until Banshee returns. Understood?* Everyone did and said so telepathically. *Good. Now we wait.*  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Meanwhile, in the tunnel that leads to Demona's lair~  
  
Demona's Pokemon weren't more than fifteen minutes out, but Pokemon can go a lot faster than humans and consequently get farther. Macbeth and his little group decided they were far enough away from Demona. Macbeth instantly sent Banshee back to the others. He and the pack of Houndour with a few recently evolved Houndoom demorphed! Catching all of Demona's allies by surprise, Macbeth shouted encouragement to his friends as well as useful suggestions. At one point, he morphed to Canis flamus and joined the fray.  
  
~Demona's Hideout, five minutes later~  
  
Banshee had morphed Canis flamus once more himself! It cut the travel time down considerably not to have to worry about everyone else demorphing and remorphing (he forgot that he was under a time limit as well). The Gengar used Fireburst to get back even faster!  
  
Reaching the entrance to Demona's Hideout, Banshee demorphed. It turned invisible. Then the Gengar let the others know it was back by deliberately stepping on Demona's tail before going intangible.  
  
Rachel, recalling Brooklyn's instructions, dropped her invisibility and intangibility. She threw Nightshade at Demona. The female Gargoyle wasn't effected by the attack, though it did get her attention!  
  
"What did you do that for?!" Demona yelled, automatically assuming that both pranks had been pulled off by one of her three Gengar.  
  
*Okay, Brooklyn. We have her attention! What now?* Marco asked.  
  
*Everyone! Battle forms!* Brooklyn instructed. Then everyone that could demorph did. Rachel's Ditto remained in the Gengar forms. Just as the Animorphs, Sara, and Jordan began to remorph, the Trio and Angela turned to stone! Demona, meanwhile, had turned into her human form for the day!  
  
"You meddlers will pay dearly!" Demona shouted, angry at being interrupted. Before any of the Pokemon, Ax, or the humans could do anything, Demona chanted something in Latin and vanished!  
  
"Okay, Ax. Next time, remind me to ask how close to sunrise we are," Marco stated after every- one, including the Ditto, were back to their natural forms.  
  
*Of course, Marco,* the Andalite replied.   
  
Jordan and Sara snuggled up against the Gargoyles and also fell asleep. "Not a bad idea," Jake said sleepily, watching his younger cousins. Everyone got comfy and went off to sleep.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Back to where Macbeth is~  
  
Macbeth demorphed. He remembered a spell that might help. Calling his Pokemon out of the battle, the ancient Scott chanted, "Allies of one I think of as foe, now your way be blocked by this woe: memories of any Gargoyles bae gone from you eleven grand Pokemon!" While he chanted, Macbeth pointed at Demona's Pokemon.  
  
Dazedly, the superclone Gyarados said, ~~Where are we? Oh, no! A human! Scatter!~~ The various ex-allies of Demona's indeed scattered.  
  
Macbeth and his Pokemon all laughed heartily. They headed back to Demona's lair to see how things were working out. When they arrived, Banshee was the only creature awake. Callahan, who had come back shortly after everyone else had fallen asleep, was curled up in a rounded corner where her flames would be harmless.  
  
The Houndour and Houndoom decided that they also needed rest. They, too, curled up for the day. Macbeth made himself comfy and rested as well, waiting for everyone to wake up.   
  
That night, everyone changed into Canis flamus. Well, except Callahan, who really WAS one. Then they all used Fireburst to get back to the gym. It didn't take long. What surprised them as they demorphed was that Naomi, Fox, Alex, and Mewtwo were all in the gym looking very worried!  
  
"Is something wrong, Mom?" Jordan asked after demorphing.  
  
Naomi looked at Fox, then Mewtwo. Her expression read, "How do I explain? Where do I even begin?"  
  
Mewtwo hovered next to Naomi and floated over to the group of humans, Gargoyles, Ax, and Pokemon. *Demona teleported herself back to the dimension from which you came. She has. . . found and taken captive certain humans. Demona has asked for a terrible ransom in return of her prisoners' freedom.*  
  
*What's her price and who has she captured?* Tobias inquired, his hawk eyes locked on the super- clone.  
  
"David is one of the prisoners," Fox said with a tear slowly falling from her right eye. "The others. . . are the parents of all the Animorphs. Naomi was the only one to escape because she. . . she wasn't with the others when Demona attacked." More tears followed the first and her words had been spoken with care.  
  
"And you came tae warn us?" Macbeth replied. Naomi and Fox nodded, and Alex started to cry. Loudly.  
  
Lexington took Alex and comforted the quarter-fay. "Don't worry. We'll rescue 'em. What was Demona's price?" Naomi, Fox, and Mewtwo exchanged glances. Lexington's phrasing had caught them off guard, but they really needed to stop hedging and answer that particular question.  
  
Finally, Mewtwo said, *Demona wishes to have the "spell" that turns you into Pokemon.*  
  
"UH-OH!" was the chorused response from those with the morphing technology.  
  
~~She would abuse the technology!~~ Callahan exclaimed, fiery hackles up.  
  
"I have a BETTER idea!" Marco exclaimed, snapping his fingers on "better". "Remember the nice Yeerks? Let's give one of those to her instead!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Cassie, Jake, Tobias, and Ax all yelled.  
  
At the same moment Rachel enthusiastically agreed, "Hey, great idea, Marco! Let's do it!" She shoved one fist straight into the air. Griz followed her lead and shoved its own arm up in support, even thought it didn't know what a Yeerk was.  
  
"Better than what, anyway, Marco?" Jake tactfully asked.  
  
"'Better than what?' You actually have ta ask?! Better than giving her the technology and making a mistake as big as Seerow's or worse, of course!" exclaimed Marco, who now had an extremely smug expression on his face.  
  
*How d'we know where to find her, though?* Tobias asked with a very sharp glance at Marco. Then everyone looked at Mewtwo, and Tobias did a bit of preening.  
  
*According to Mew, Demona is holding her captives within the ancient ruins of one of Japan's finest castles. Mew does not know the name of the ruins, but he can get you there once you are back in your home dimension.* Mewtwo twitched his tail and hovered closer to the group.   
  
Before anything more could be said, the superclone transported them back to Professor Oak's. Everyone called their Pokemon back into their Poke-balls (Ax's Pikachu went to his shoulder) and went through Oberon's Gate.  
  
From there, on instructions from Jake and Ax, Mew transported them to the Yeerk Pool!  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~At the Yeerk Pool, moments later~  
  
"I will never be used to this place," Jake stated with a shudder.  
  
"What is this place?" asked Brooklyn, looking around. There were holes in the tops and bottoms of certain cave entrances where bars had once been to "help" keep the "host bodies" from escaping.  
  
"Welcome to the revamped Yeerk Pool!" Marco announced as though they were all tourists in Hollywood.  
  
"Oooh! That is NOT very pretty!" Angela exclaimed, spotting the actual pool teeming with Yeerks.  
  
"It isn't intended to be pretty," Jake replied with a shrug. "Cass? Are you sure you can handle doing this?" What Jake was referring to was that Cassie was going to use her Yeerk morph. She would go into the pool and talk to and find a Yeerk to give Demona. They had a good plan for how to get the immortal Gargoyle to cooperate, too.  
  
Owen and Alex stood near the pool. They had snatched Owen while they were still at the Eyrie Building. Owen was going to "teach" Alex a new spell if the Yeerk Cassie found would cooperate.  
  
"Of course I'm sure, Jake. I've been in a Yeerk pool before, remember? Only this time, I won't be risking getting myself killed by them," Cassie said in reply to Jake. Then she began the morph, which is complicatedly disgusting. Finally, she looked like a mutated, mucus-coated slug that wasn't very big but quite squishy. Since she didn't have any sense of sight, smell, or sound, Cassie thought-spoke, *Could someone please stick me in the pool?*  
  
Though weirded out and very displeased, Ax scooped Cassie into his left hand. The Andalite then, as gently as he thought possible (with restraint from the temptation of throwing his friend like a baseball), Ax put Cassie into the Yeerk pool.   
  
Cassie "swam" to the nearest Yeerk. It took a while for her to figure out how to communicate. At last, she learned that it had something to do with touching "palps" to other Yeerks. ("Kinda like when bees use their antennae to communicate," Cassie had said upon later reflection.)   
  
#Excuse me,# she said to one Yeerk. #I'm Cassie, one of the Animorphs once thought to be "Andalite Bandits". We need to ask a favor of one of you. Any one up to it?#  
  
#I'm not sure I understand. If you're a human that fought us, why would you want our help?# one Yeerk asked.  
  
#We have this. . . person that needs special therapy. There's just a few problems. First, she'd kill anyone who tried to tell her she's off her rocker. Second, she's immortal. Third-#  
  
#Back up! Immortal?!# another Yeerk demanded to know.  
  
#Yeah, to our disadvantage. She's bound to someone else and they can only die by killing each other. Also, this person is one form by day and another by night. Her day form is human, and her night one is a creature called a Gargoyle. And one more thing: she wants all humans and any creature that likes them killed!# Cassie explained.  
  
#WHAT?!# a lot of Yeerks exclaimed. #But humans are excellent hosts!# one complained. Then many of them clamored for the job.  
  
#Are you sure? She goes against her own instincts and is the primary cause of the destruction of nearly all her friends and family. She doesn't take the credit, though. She gives that to humans and her ex-boyfriend. Um, ex-mate.# Nearly all the Yeerks changed their minds.  
  
One, however, wanted more information. #If she's so dangerous, how will a Yeerk even get inside her? Will who ever goes in get special protection? Won't she slaughter every Yeerk in the Yeerk Pool when the one goes to get the needed Kandrona rays?#  
  
#I thought you'd never ask,# Cassie replied somewhat smugly. #First, the person she's bound to will morph something. Theoretically, this should cause her great discomfort. While she's distracted by her pain, we'll insert one of you. You'll have a special spell on you that will cancel out your need for Kandrona. How's that sound?#  
  
#I'll do it! By the way, I'm Esplin 5763, and you can call me E5,# the Yeerk responded to Cassie's proposal.  
  
#Fantastic! Now for the tricky part.# Cassie kept her palps in contact with E5's. She began to demorph, willing her hands to be first. By the time Cassie was half through, Owen and Alex had a jar with water ready for the Yeerk.  
  
Since it was obvious which Yeerk Cassie had selected, Owen reached his hand in and grabbed it. Alex burbled happily as the Yeerk was deposited into the jar he was holding.   
  
Jake and Marco helped pull Cassie out of the pool before any Yeerks picked her for its host. Jake hugged Cassie although she was still wet.  
  
Owen handed Alex to Lexington. Then the business man turned back into Puck! "Time for a new magic lesson!" the fay commented happily to his pupil. Alex looked into Lexington's eyes and merged the two of them.   
  
Ax's stalk eyes jumped forward. His Pikachu hopped down and stepped over to Lexington/Alex. ~~What did you do that for?~~ it wanted to know.  
  
*Yes, why?* Ax stepped back, worried Alex would enter him next.  
  
"Because Alex needs Lexington to help him speak. 'Sides, Lexington has helped willingly enough before," Puck replied with a wink. Then he and Alex/Lexington cast the spell of immortality on Esplin 5763.  
  
Mew inquired, "Are you done? If so, don't you think we should get to Demona?"  
  
"Yeah, we're done," Lexington/Alex said. Mew then teleported the entire group, plus E5, directly to the Japanese castle ruins!  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~Castle Ruins, somewhere in Japan~  
  
"Where are they?" Demona snarled. Suddenly, Mew and crew showed up! "Finally! Now, hand over the spell and I'll hand over the humans and Pokemon." On "humans," Demona gave an extra growl.  
  
Ax's parents were NOT pleased at being called Pokemon, but they couldn't do much to Demona because she'd magically bound them and the humans to a crumbled-down wall. *We are not polka-something-or-others,* Ax's father openly thought-spoke with offended Andalite dignity. *We are of the proud race of Andalites!*  
  
"Couldn'ta said it better myself," Marco stated with a lopsided grin. Everyone else that had entered ignored the conversation and acted. Macbeth began to morph into Gengar! Lexington/Alex walked over to Demona, who was writhing in pain, while holding the jar with Esplin 5763 in their talons.  
  
*You brought one of the Yeerk scum with you?!* Ax's mother asked with extreme distaste.  
  
"You'd rather give that nutcase your morphing technology?" Naomi countered, pointing at Demona.  
  
The adult Andalites felt rather subdued after that one and kept quiet. The ancient Scott demorphed, keeping Demona fully distracted! The small, green Gargoyle opened the jar and carefully extracted the Yeerk. Then, while Macbeth began to re-morph, Alex/Lexington placed E5 in Demona's ear!  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~From Esplin 5763's point of view upon entering Demona's head~  
  
#Wow!# I exclaimed. I had never been in a host like this! My host didn't even notice my entrance at first.   
  
I found the pain control zone of the brain. I turned the pain receptors off. I was then engaged in opening the senses of sight, sound, and smell. We Yeerks thought humans had great senses of sound, sight, and smell! Boy were we wrong! Gargoyles are ten times better!  
  
Next, I decided to flap her wings. That was cool! I twitched her tail and flexed her paws. "Fascinating!" I had her mouth and voice box say. "And to think I can only glide." I managed to make that sound like I was disappointed!   
  
Finally, Demona realized I had taken complete control of her body. She told me, "What is going on here?! What manner of sorcery or technology are you using?! What even ARE you!?!"  
  
#I'm a Yeerk. It is neither sorcery nor technology. I'm using my natural abilities to control you. Also, my race is considered parasitic. YIKES!# I exclaimed as I saw one of her memories. I quickly blocked it off. For your information, the memory was of her betrayal to her "clan"! #Cassie was right! You need some SERIOUS therapy, lady-goyle-person-thing!#  
  
"I'm NO lady! I'm a powerful-"  
  
#EEeennnn! Wrong! You WERE powerful. Now, your every movement, every memory, every thought, everyTHING your capable of belongs to me! Hmm,# I stated as I saw the memories of spells. I chuckled as I watched her make a mistake in her early attempts at magic. #That wasn't a very intelligent thing to do.# Out loud, I asked, "Anything in particular you want me to teach her?"  
  
Cassie and a red Gargoyle Demona's memories called Brooklyn exclaimed in unison, "Teach her to be nice!"  
  
"Though that will undoubtedly take a long time, I've got plenty of time now I'm immortal. Anything else?"  
  
"Teach her what it means to be a true Gargoyle again," a female that the memories noted as a biological daughter and called Angela stated.  
  
I looked at some instincts that were pushed into a deep recess of her memories. "Good idea!" I exclaimed as I saw what she had once been: a loving and protecting Gargess that acted without thinking on too many occasions. "Also I think that a good punishment for her crimes will be 'no magic for a full century.' Does that sound good?"  
  
"NO!" Demona yelled at me, pointlessly struggling to regain control of her body. I mentally shook my host's head at herself. She stopped abruptly and had to figure out how I'd managed that one.  
  
Everyone else gave me the opposite answer in a very positive and happy manner. #Chill, Demona. I can help you nicely or rudely, but either way you'll learn.# I utilized the neurons that control facial expressions to make a very smug smile. Out loud, I said, "This should be fun! Thanks for the great host, everyone! Like I already told Cassie, from now on, call me E5. I suspect that would be best for us all." I made Demona's right arm go into a "thinking" position.  
  
~Commercial Break~  
  
~No longer from E5's point of view, and everyone had been transported over to the Eyrie Building~  
  
"That was a different rescue than I expected, m'dear," Xanatos said to Fox. "Where's Alex?" He looked for his son, mystified.  
  
"Right here," Alex/Lexington said, stepping forward. Ax's parents looked as though if they hadn't already been accustomed to strange things when dealing with "alien life forms" that they would have fainted. They really had problems when Alex separated himself from Lexington!  
  
*I do not understand! How is this possible?!* Ax's father inquired.  
  
"Magic," Lexington replied, holding young Alexander Xanatos lovingly in his arms. Then the Gargoyle handed the baby over to Fox and Xanatos. Ax's mother did faint!  
  
*Hmm. I was not aware that our species was capable of fainting,* Ax commented.   
  
Smirking, Xanatos said, "Well, perhaps you would be happier knowing that this young Gargoyle was in a stone sleep for a thousand years." He wanted to see if he could get two aliens to faint in one night. He was somewhat disappointed when the other adult Andalite didn't faint but didn't show it.  
  
*A thousand Earth years? How is that possible?* Ax's father wanted to know.  
  
"Again, magic would be the cause," Owen stated in his business-man tone. "Not only that, the entire clan is over a thousand years old. As for myself, I am member of the immortal race primarily known as Oberon's children." Ax's father staggered on his four deer-like feet. Ax raised his own brow in one of the human expressions he had adopted for mild surprise.  
  
Owen then gave the Andalites a detailed explanation of how this came about. "Bummer," Marco said at the tail end. "Hey, Macbeth? If the gym you and Rachel established was to help warn people and their Pokemon about Demona and she's no longer a threat, what're ya gonna do?"  
  
"If Rachel would like, we could still run the gym. That reminds me! Marco? Rachel? Would ye help me pass around Legend Badges to all who helped in Demona's defeat? I believe t'would be reasonable, do ye disagree?" Macbeth replied. The badges were indeed passed around.  
  
Well, it looked like a "happily ever after" kind of thing, but everyone knows that stories attached to living beings - no matter the species - don't truly end until death. Well, death doesn't always end a story, either. . . . 


End file.
